


Afraid

by Skyyynn



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, supposed to be angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 04:49:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15834075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyyynn/pseuds/Skyyynn
Summary: Timeline is probably somewhere after the training camp. I don't know whether to put it after their match with Shiratorizawa or not xDNekoma has agreed to a short training camp with Karasuno, Tsukishima however is still a little conflicted about what happened during the previous camp.





	Afraid

 

"Tsukki, you should go to sleep soon. It's not good staying up all the time."

 

"I will. In a bit." 

 

"You always say that. I'm just worried about you." 

 

"Shut up Yamaguchi." 

 

This conversation happens every night. Tsukishima Kei has always loved the night, staying up to study has always been part of his daily routine. 

 

"But didn't you go to practice today? Aren't you tired? With morning and evening training, I don't think you should push yourself to stay up." 

 

"I'm not pushing myself. I can't sleep, Yamaguchi." 

 

Yamaguchi Tadashi is Kei's childhood friend. Knowing each other since elementary school, Tadashi would say he is Kei's best friend.

 

“Alright. I’m heading to bed now. Please promise me you’ll try to sleep.” 

 

Kei did not reply, but the dial tone signaled that Tadashi wouldn’t take no for an answer. If he even expected an answer in the first place. Having this conversation almost every night, Kei wondered how Yamaguchi could say the same old thing over and over, with him replying with the same response. 

 

He was sure that Yamaguchi knew that he would not go to bed until at least 2 am.   Sleep was another matter. 

 

He woke up at 5:30 am to go for morning practice. His normal routine consisted of taking a brisk shower and drinking half a cup of coffee before heading out. 

 

During practice, his stomach would growl. He knew that skipping breakfast was bad, especially since he needed the calories in preparation for the tedious exercises. Weighing the odds, he’d rather go through the growling than suffer the uncomfortable weight in his stomach after breakfast. 

 

It was too early to care anyways. He always wonders how the idiot combo can have so much energy in the morning. He is the moon, he thrives at night. 

 

“So I’ve been talking to Nekomata-sensei about a joint training camp between Karasuno and Nekoma. He agreed and they are coming here two weeks from now. It won’t just be the regulars so everyone will have a chance to play.” 

 

Everybody was excited especially the idiots. They were so loud. Talking about how they wanted to be able to beat Nekoma by the end of the camp. They were strong now, but that wasn’t nearly the level needed to beat the same opponents back to back. Nekoma was highly adaptable with their tactics against our offence. Even if they won once, the next time was not going to be as easy. 

 

Everyone’s morale was at an all time high. Free practice turned into another hour of coaching. When coach was unavailable, they would work on their synchronised attacks and their serves. Tsukishima on the other hand, leaves practice at the usual time, with Yamaguchi often staying back to practice with the others. 

 

With his headphones blasting some rock music, Kei was on his way back home.

 

The last time they met with Nekoma, it was the training camp with the Fukurodani Academy Group. Due to the circumstances, Kei would not say it had gone smoothly but he managed. All because of one incident. 

 

It was almost the end of the training camp when his motivation for the sport had been lit.  He was secretly admiring Nekoma’s captain for all that he had done for him. 

 

* * *

 

It had been a perfectly normal training camp. Karasuno was hosting a joint camp with Nekoma that weekend. It was supposed to be a perfectly normal night. Tsukishima had gone to the washroom to get cleaned up for dinner when there was a slight tremor. It was normal for Japan to have earthquakes and there were precautions taken to prevent too much damage from happening. Shrugging it off as nothing big, Tsukishima continued cleaning up when the power went out. Alone with no phone to light his way, he was completely stranded in the dark. 

 

Stricken with fear,thoughts of using touch to navigate and reach for the door were non-existent. He broke out in cold sweat. Even with other members of the team somewhere in the building, he felt alone. 

 

His body started shutting down as he felt tingling in his hands and feet. A shiver went up his spine. He crouched down and scooted back until he felt a wall hit his back. He clenched his fists on his head, pulling at his hair. His breathing got shallower and faster. 

 

‘In. Out. In. Out.’ 

 

It wasn’t working. He couldn’t control his breathing. His mind was in disarray. He needed to concentrate on breathing. It was impossible with his mind going a mile a minute, all centered about nothing. 

 

He wished so hard for the power to switch back on before someone found him in the dark. Alas, his wish was overlooked as he heard footsteps approaching from outside the toilet. He heard the familiar voices of two owls and a cat. He wanted to call out to them but his voice was caught in his throat. 

 

Being afraid of the dark is one thing, letting people see a vulnerable side of him is another. Tsukishima weighed his options. At least with something to think about, his breathing slowed slightly. 

 

With a shaky voice, he called out to one of the few people that could show his true self around. 

 

“Kuroo-san.” 

 

~

 

Kuroo turned at the sound of someone calling him. He recognised the voice, gentler than he was used to, but he recognised it. He was holding a small flashlight and had been walking around with Bokuto and Akaashi to round up anyone who wasn’t in the gym when the blackout occurred. 

 

The voice he heard had been full of fear and rubbed him the wrong way. He looked to the toilets and told Bokuto and Akaashi to go on ahead and meet up back at the gym after they had done their round. If that voice belongs to who he think it does, then he didn’t want anyone but himself to be there for him. 

 

Kuroo stepped into the toilet and looked around. 

 

“Tsukki?” 

  
He stepped forward and saw Tsukishima at the corner of the room, underneath a sink. In any other situation, he would be thinking of how cute Tsukishima looked, but the distinct look of fear when they locked eyes sent him forward to kneel in front of him. 

 

As he kneeled on the floor, Tsukishima all but leaped onto Kuroo, making him fall back onto his butt. 

 

Tsukishima’s arms wrapped around Kuroo’s neck and his face hidden in the crook of Kuroo’s neck. Kuroo could feel his shirt getting damp. He was sure he wasn’t sweating so it must be Tsukishima. Tears or sweat, he didn’t know. Tsukishima was shaking as he sniffled. He was crying. 

 

“I’m sorry.” There it was again. The small voice coming from Tsukishima. It sounded so broken… and the trembling didn’t help. 

 

“It’s alright. Mind telling me what’s going on?” 

 

Tsukishima shook his head, not trusting his voice, “Can we just stay like this for a bit.” 

 

Kuroo relaxed his muscles as he got into a more comfortable position. Turning off the flashlight, he wrapped his arms around Tsukishima’s waist, hands going up to let his fingers run through Tsukishima’s hair. 

 

After a while, Tsukishima stopped shaking and the sniffles softened. His breathing leveled and his body fell limp onto Kuroo. 

 

Kuroo had no idea what was going on and he wondered how long they could stay there before someone else finds them. Knowing Tsukishima, he wouldn’t want anyone else to see him in this state. 

 

Kuroo felt a bit relieved and pleased that Tsukishima called out to him and not anyone else. Relieved that Tsukishima had actually felt confident enough in him to call him out in his time of distress. Who knew what Tsukishima was thinking when this was happening. If he hadn’t called out, Tsukishima might have been left alone to deal with this fear in the darkness. 

 

Kuroo took out his phone and texted Bokuto that he would see him later in the gym and there was no need to come find him. 

 

He passed the time by scrolling through instagram, his hands never stopped stroking Tsukishima’s hair. 

 

Tsukishima woke up about 15 minutes later, his face still buried in Kuroo’s shoulder. 

 

“So Tsukki, are you going to tell me why you’re scared of the dark?” 

 

“I’m not scared of the dark.” Tsukishima muttered. 

 

“Yeah and that explains the trembling.” 

 

Kuroo knew he was being careless with his phrasing, however he felt like if he talked as if he was walking on eggshells, Tsukishima would avoid answering the question. Push him too much and Tsukishima would close himself off and detach himself from the conversation. Kuroo hates pushing it too much, but for someone like Tsukishima, maybe pushing a little was actually needed. 

 

Tsukishima went quiet. The cogs in his mind turning frantically to come up with an answer. 

 

“I wasn’t scared. I just got shocked by the sudden power outage. It caught me off guard that’s all.” 

 

Kuroo was shocked to say the least. He had expected Tsukishima to go back to his snarky self and rebut. Something was seriously wrong. He has never seen Tsukishima this fragile before. Honestly, he didn’t know what to do. 

 

“So what were you paranoid about?” He was met with silence. It was to be expected but Kuroo needed some kind of sign to show that he was saying the right thing. He did not want to mess up his relationship with Tsukishima. 

 

“I don’t want to talk about it.” 

 

The silence continued. 

 

“You can let go of me now.” Tsukishima said after a while, breaking the silence. 

 

Kuroo turned bright red and silently thanked the blackout. 

 

Untangling their mess of limbs, Kuroo stood up and held out a hand for Tsukishima to take. They both stood and Kuroo led them out of the washroom with the flashlight pointing in front of them. Kuroo’s hand still intertwined with Tsukishima’s as they slowly made their way back to the gym. 

 

As they made their way back side by side, the lights flickered on. They looked at each other then down to their linked hands. They both blushed a light shade of red but continued walking. 

 

Reaching the gym, they finally let go of their hands, clammy from the heat, Kuroo smiled and walked towards his team for roll call. They’ve been gone too long. Especially in a crisis, they were supposed to report back to the teachers. 

 

“Kuroo-san.” Tsukishima called out before they got too far, “Thanks … and you sing well.” 

 

Tsukishima turned around and went back to his team too. 

 

Kuroo was left standing in a daze. Since when had he sang for Tsukishima? He thought back on the past hour. Maybe it was when he was waiting for Tsukishima to wake up? His family and friends always told him he had a habit of humming when he does things. 

 

“Kuroo what are you standing around for?” Kenma poked Kuroo in the side and snapped him out of his daze. 

 

Kuroo shook his head “Nothing. Let’s go back.” 

 

~

 

Even after the incident, he did not stop looking over to Nekoma’s captain. Without realising it, his eyes always search for the boy even when there was no way he was near. 

 

He looked at his phone when he felt a slight vibration. A message from an unknown number. 

 

_ Hey Tsukki. I’ve just been told that we’re going over for a short training camp. ^.^ Looking forward to seeing you again.  _

 

He knew who this was. Even without the ID. Even without looking at the display picture. 

 

He and Kuroo had been unconsciously flirting the second half of the camp. The person that noticed was Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi had voiced out that Kei had been talking more with Kuroo than he had seen. Kuroo had been reciprocating Kei’s discreet touches and starts random conversations to get Kei to speak more. 

 

After Yamaguchi told Kei about it, he spent the next day thinking. Had he really been flirting? It just seemed so natural to talk to Kuroo. He wasn’t forcing himself to talk. If he didn’t want to talk, Kuroo would carry on talking. There was nothing weird about that, surprisingly. 

 

Kei concluded that he had actually fallen for the dork. The more he thought about it, the more embarrassed he got but also the more in love he felt. He had always told others and himself that love is a hoax used by marketing teams to earn more sales and that he would never fall in love. Well look how that turned out. 

 

He never wanted to fall in love. He had heard Yamaguchi talking about his small childhood crushes and always wondered why he had fallen in love with people totally by random. A girl could have gave him a small smile as she walked by and he would say he fell in love. 

 

However this felt different from Yamaguchi’s love. This was a love that had been nurtured and encouraged by both parties. 

 

Kei did not know whether he should reply or not. He felt like a shoujo manga main character, conflicted as her life continues and her love grows, but she only has time for one. In such a competitive society, was it really wise to be held down so early in life? 

 

Kei barely knows Kuroo outside of volleyball. What if he was a totally different character. He was already cunning in volleyball, what if Kuroo was just being kind as he said. There’s always two sides of a story. What if Kuroo also liked Kei and is deliberately wooing him. 

 

Kuroo is a stranger. That’s what Kei decided. 

 

Another message came through. 

 

_ I’m Kuroo by the way. A little birdie gave me your number before you guys left Tokyo.  _

 

Kuroo is a stranger. But why is this stranger making his heart beat so uncomfortably fast? 

 

~ 

 

Kei had been texting Kuroo. Little things about how they were doing and school work, etc. Kei started anticipating the messages. He started wanting to know what Kuroo was doing. Usually it wasn’t much since he was a third year student and the nationals are coming, but more often than not, Kei would find himself thinking of ways to help Kuroo. Be it in school work, or just destressing. 

 

Kei has been doing college prep papers and knows of the things Kuroo would need to go into college. When Kuroo doesn’t know an answer to a particular question, Kei would lend a helping hand. It wasn’t that he was smarter, it was just a different perspective. Their way of thinking complemented each other. 

 

Analytical and realistic. Perceptive and optimistic. 

 

Kei wanted more. He started to _want_ more. 

 

Humans are greedy creatures. They take and take. When it was time to give back, they fall short. He felt like he was becoming more and more like the person he said he would never be. 

 

And that scared him so much more than he imagined. 

**Author's Note:**

> I left it off at a place where I can choose whether I want to continue or not ^.^ I don't want to promise something and then not do it, cause procrastination. 
> 
> Credits to my friend for editing my English in this one. xD
> 
> If I do continue though, it would probably be about Tsukki's and Kuroo's relationship and also Tsukishima's reason for being scared of the dark. The back story would be similar to the one in my previous Kuroo/Tsukki story. 
> 
> Follow me on Wattpad to read my short story collection cause it's weird posting original stories on AO3. Gotta follow cause I made it private. 
> 
> @SkynSora


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